Please Pay Attention Pt 1 Poem by David Whalen

Pay Attention Part One

Your eyelids begin to flutter, shy morning light yearns to peek in
Savor that fleeting moment between worlds
Mind, not in the dream world, nor totally awake
Savor that pleasantly confused state of mind
Of household sounds distantly intruding
Sift languidly through tattered remains of diaphanous dreams
Extend and enjoy this common to us all morning experience
That the majority of us completely ignore

Really pay attention

To your soul-mate, still asleep across the bed
Hair tousled o’er face and pillow
Look closely at that sleeping face and see the lines and wrinkles
That you, the kids, and daily life have imprinted on that brow
Don’t see her as you do every day. Look very closely
See her not, as you know her, but as a stranger would
See her as a unique individual, not with the sort of faceless familiarity
That we so blithely impart to those close to us
Really look, and you’ll see a new, different, unique person
Than you saw yesterday

Really, truly, pay attention

Take the time. Really, truly take the time
To savor, dissect and enjoy all the seemingly, yet not,
Mundane, things in your life
Don’t rush about unseeing, unfeeling, oblivious
To each everyday experience
There’s a vast different world that surrounds us. A parallel universe of sorts
Which most of us don’t have time or patience to see
Or maybe choose not to see

Please pay attention

I’m going to try to open your eyes more
To unseen, everyday experiences and abilities
That perhaps you have lost, ignored
Or never learned to exercise to start with

If you read this and are interested in further exploration of what we don’t see and experience on a daily basis, please let me know and I’ll do a “Pay attention” part two